How to Set up a Dynamics 365 Integration with SharePoint in 2026

Quick Answer

You can integrate Dynamics 365 with SharePoint using Microsoft’s native server-based integration in under 30 minutes. This integration shifts your storage for Dynamics 365 documents (from apps such as Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, and Marketing) from expensive Dataverse capacity to SharePoint, reducing costs while enabling teams to collaborate more effectively on files. In this article, we’ll cover the 5 steps needed in detail.

The 5-Step Setup:

1. Enable server-based SharePoint integration in Dynamics 365.
2. Connect your SharePoint site (Online or On-Premises).
3. Select Entities and Configure Document Management settings in Dynamics 365.
4. Define SharePoint Folder Structure.
5. Test the integration by uploading a file to a Dynamics record and verifying it appears in SharePoint.

The Reality Check: While the wizard is fast, there are limitations to it. You need to address the permissions gap between Dynamics and SharePoint, as well as other details, to achieve a production-ready setup. This guide covers all those issues (and how to solve them with third-party tools) at the end.

Jump to: What does a Dynamics 365 SharePoint Integration involve?  → Prerequisites checklist→ Step-by-step →  What goes where → External users and Collaboration → What to watch out for in production → Takeaway → FAQ

Already know the native integration isn’t enough?
See how the Dynamics 365 + SharePoint Document Management Suite addresses permissions, folder structure, metadata, and attachment management.

 

Prerequisites

What does a Dynamics 365 SharePoint Integration involve?

This Dynamics 365 integration is a server-to-server connection that enhances the document management capabilities of your ecosystem. It primarily involves:

• Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE): Including apps such as Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, and Marketing.
• Microsoft SharePoint Online or On-Premises: Your chosen storage and collaboration hub.

By connecting Dynamics 365 with SharePoint, you get features such as version control, real-time co-authoring, and external sharing through Microsoft Entra B2B.

Note:

The Dynamics 365 integration only involves documents associated with the entities you enable during setup (such as Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities). Dynamics 365 note and email attachments will remain stored in Dataverse unless you migrate them separately to SharePoint.

Checklist

Before you start, make sure the following requirements are met:

• Dynamics 365 System Administrator role
  You need this specific role in Dynamics 365, not the Dynamics 365 administrator role or any other variant.
• SharePoint Site Collection Administrator access
  The integration requires Site Collection Admin rights, not just Site Owner permissions for that specific site.
• Same Microsoft 365 tenant
  The native integration is designed for environments where Dynamics 365 and SharePoint are in the same tenant.
• The SharePoint site you want to integrate with must already exist
  The wizard validates a URL. If the site does not exist, validation will fail.

Step-By-Step: Set Up Dynamics 365 Integration With SharePoint

The steps below follow the standard Microsoft process for this server-based integration and are presented using screenshots that reflect the current interface in July 2026.

If your screen looks different, you may be on a legacy version of Dynamics. You will probably be able to follow along these steps, although the Dynamics look and feel will be different.

Step 1: Enable server-based SharePoint integration in Dynamics 365.

First, you need to access the document management settings, which you can do in one of the following ways:

1.      In the Power Platform admin center admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com

• Click Manage → Environments.
• Select the environment you want.
• Open Settings (gear icon).
• Select Integration and then Document Management settings.

2. In Microsoft Dynamics 365

• Click on Settings (gear icon).
• Select Advanced Settings.
• In the left menu, navigate to System → Document Management.

3. In Microsoft Power Apps

• Make sure you have the correct Dynamics environment open (check the top-right corner).
• Click on Settings (gear icon).
• Select Advanced Settings.
• In the left menu, navigate to System → Document Management.

Then select Configure Server-Based SharePoint Integration

 

The Server-based SharePoint Integration wizard will open.

 

 

Note:
Dynamics 365 historically supported a client‑to‑server SharePoint integration, optionally enhanced by the List Component, a package that had to be deployed to SharePoint's sandbox infrastructure, which Microsoft has since deprecated. This was common in Dynamics CRM 2013 and 2015-era environments. Today, Microsoft supports only server-to-server (server-based) integration, in which Dynamics 365 securely connects to SharePoint using OAuth, and that is what we will cover in this article.

Step 2: Connect your SharePoint Online (or On-Premises)

On the first step of the integration wizard, indicate if your SharePoint is Online or On-Premises. The SharePoint integration can connect to both. It can even connect to multiple SharePoint sites, but they all have to be either Online or On-Premises.

The on-premises SharePoint option is designed explicitly for Dynamics on-premises environments, so the On-premises option will be greyed out if you have Dynamics 365 online. This is expected behavior, not a bug.

Assuming you chose SharePoint Online, you’ll need to enter the URL of the SharePoint site you want to use.

Example:
https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite

You can simply copy the URL of the SharePoint site's main page, and the wizard will validate it when you click Next.

 

If validation of the SharePoint URL fails, check:

• The SharePoint site exists and is active
• URL format is correct
• The site is accessible (not blocked by policies)

Assuming the validation succeeds, you proceed to the document management settings by clicking the Next button.

 

Note:
Don't worry if you get a "No default SharePoint site found. Set default site by completing Document Management Settings Wizard." message at this point. This does not indicate a failure.

Step 3: Select Entities and Configure Document Management Settings

You can now go back to your Dynamics settings screen and select which entities you want to enable for SharePoint folders.

• Click on Document management settings

Select the entities for which document management should be enabled, such as:

• Accounts
• Contacts
• Opportunities
• Cases
• Leads

 

The wizard will suggest some entities for you, so if you are not sure, just go through those default ones.

• Click Next

Only enable the Dynamics entities you actually plan to use, as you can always add more later by coming back to this settings option.

Step 4: Define SharePoint Folder Structure

You now have to validate the SharePoint site once again.

• Paste the same SharePoint URL as you did before

• Click Validate URL.
• Once the indication that your URL is valid comes up, click Next.

You can now select how documents will be organized into folders in SharePoint. Let’s use an example of a file Document.pdf that you attach in Dynamics to contact John Smith, of the account Contoso to see what will happen based on what you choose at this point.

• Based on Account - The structure will have Account as the primary SharePoint folder, with subfolders for the actual account names created under it.

Example:

/Account/Contoso+GUID/John Smith+GUID/Document.pdf

For this, check the Based on entity checkbox and choose Account

 

 

• Based on Contact - The structure will start with the Contact primary SharePoint folder, and sub-folders based on the actual contact names will be created under it.

Example:

/Contact/John Smith+GUID/Document.pdf

For this, check the Based on entity checkbox and choose Contact

• Flat structure – For every Dynamics account and each Dynamics contact that has a document attached, a folder will be created. All of these will live side-by-side. This makes it more confusing to retrieve documents in SharePoint, so I would only recommend it if you do not plan to do so. In any case, if this is your choice, simply leave the Based on entity checkbox unchecked.

Example:

/John Smith+GUID/Document.pdf

Note: Document folders get the record’s global unique identifier (GUID) added to their name. This is a long, random string of letters and numbers – it looks weird, but it guarantees the folder name is unique.

Once you click Next, you will see the Status evolve as the SharePoint document libraries are created. We might have to wait a little at this point.

 

 

Once that is done, you can click Finish. Your integration is now live!

Step 5: How Do I Know My Dynamics 365 Integration With SharePoint Is Working?

Confirming the integration is actually doing what it should is your final step. Here is your verification checklist.

In Dynamics 365:

• Open a record (e.g., Account)
• Check for the Documents tab
• Upload a test file
• Confirm the Source column. It should say SharePoint

 

In SharePoint:

• Navigate to the site
• Confirm the document library exists
• Confirm the record folder was created
• Confirm the file is present

Understanding the Integration Model (What Goes Where)

Once the SharePoint integration is enabled, the actual files are stored in SharePoint. Dynamics 365 stores only the location metadata needed to find them, such as the SharePoint folder URL and the relationship to a specific record. Everything else, including document type, tags, and version history, is managed in SharePoint.

This creates a split model:

• Dynamics 365 → record context and document location references
• SharePoint → files and document metadata

With this integration, independently of whether you place your documents through SharePoint or Dynamics, documents will be stored in SharePoint. You can use that to work around some problems or to design your workflows more efficiently.

For example, when uploading documents through Dynamics, you can only upload one file at a time, and you have a maximum limit of 50 MB per file.

You can, however, upload files larger than 50 MB if you upload them directly to SharePoint, and you can use tools like Drag & Drop and Metadata for Dynamics 365 CE that are specifically designed to enhance the Dynamics SharePoint integration and that allow multiple drag & drop uploads.

External Users And Collaboration (Why This Integration Is Often Chosen)

Having Dynamics 365 documents in SharePoint allows organizations to handle internal and external users differently:

• Internal users can work in Dynamics 365, SharePoint, or both
• External users (clients, auditors, partners) or even users from other organizational units can be given access to documents in SharePoint without needing access to Dynamics 365.

Why this matters:

• External users do not require Dynamics 365 or Power Apps licenses
• You can control exactly which documents they can see
• No exposure to CRM data or internal records

In practice, this is one of the main reasons teams adopt SharePoint integration instead of storing documents directly in Dynamics 365.

 

Note:

Regarding sharing with externals, keep in mind that Microsoft is deprecating SPO OTP authentication (used previously when sharing via a "Specific People" link).  From July 2026, external users without a B2B guest account will lose access to previously shared links, with full retirement expected by August 31, 2026.

What to Watch Out For in Production

A successfully completed integration setup wizard is not the same as having a production-ready integration.

1. The permissions gap (most critical)

Problem:

Permissions of Dynamics 365 security roles are not synced with SharePoint permissions. Users are able to access documents in SharePoint even if they don’t have access to them in Dynamics 365.

Fix:

The fix is to automate permission replication between the two systems so that whenever a Dynamics security role changes, SharePoint reflects it automatically, without manual intervention.

CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator does this by running continuously in the background, monitoring Dynamics and mirroring all privilege changes (Read, Write, Append, and others) to the corresponding folders and documents in SharePoint. That is done not only when a document is added but also in other situations in which permissions change. A good example is when team membership changes: you add or remove someone from a group in Dynamics, and their SharePoint document access updates accordingly.

This matters to ensure that document access is adequately controlled, plus, if you're subject to GDPR or similar regulations, being able to demonstrate that document access is consistently governed by your CRM security model is often a compliance requirement. The tool also supports custom Dataverse solutions, so it works beyond the standard D365 entities.

2. Metadata not entered

Problem:

Once you have Dynamics 365 Integration with SharePoint, users need to navigate to SharePoint to enter metadata. Users resist having the extra step of opening SharePoint just to find the document and enter metadata. This can lead to forgotten updates and, in turn:

• Inconsistent tagging
• Poor searchability
• Compliance issues

Fix:

An add-on like Drag & Drop and Metadata for Dynamics 365 CE allows users to create and manage metadata directly within Dynamics 365, supporting managed metadata and other metadata types. It enforces mandatory fields, simplifies folder operations, and provides instant synchronization to SharePoint.

3. Folder structure

Problem:

The structure for the SharePoint folders with the integration described above is either one folder per account or contact. That structure might not be the best for your organization, especially with a large number of Accounts or Contacts . If that is the case, you’ll likely feel this will aggravate over the years.

Fix:

The easiest fix for this is the SharePoint Structure Creator add-on, which has another big plus: you’ll avoid reaching the unique permissions limit set by Microsoft.

When Is Microsoft’s Native Integration Enough?

Given these 3 problems, you might be wondering if there is any case in which the native integration is sufficient. It can be sufficient if:

• You don’t need strict document-level security
• Your team is small
• Document volume is low

You will need additional tooling when:

• Compliance requirements increase
• Teams grow
• Manual permission management becomes unmanageable

Takeaway

You can get a working Dynamics 365–SharePoint integration in under 30 minutes.

The integration is easy to enable, and with appropriate third-party tools from Connecting Software, you can fix the permissions and structure problems that Microsoft’s out-of-the-box integration of Dynamics and SharePoint has.

If you'd like to see how Permissions Replicator and SharePoint Structure Creator can solve the permissions and folder problems above, reach out to Connecting Software's experts with your specific setup, even if you feel your questions are technical. Let us know what you need and you'll get a personalized demo covering features, pricing, deployment, and support, so you know exactly what you're evaluating. Prefer to talk it through first? Call +1 (720)-577-3030.

 

FAQ

 

Q: Are there any potential security risks or concerns when integrating Dynamics 365 with SharePoint?

A: Integrating two platforms does bring potential security risks, namely in terms of access control. Both platforms have their security measures, but when integrated, their permissions are not aligned. Automating permissions replication from Dynamics to SharePoint is essential to ensure proper access controls and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. We recommend CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator for this.

Q: Can the integration be customized to fit specific business needs, and if so, how?

A: The integration can indeed be customized to fit specific business needs. The customization within the integration wizard is limited: you can decide whether to base your SharePoint folders on Accounts or Contacts. For further customization of the folders, you can use a tool like SharePoint Structure Creator. This will cover all possible folder customization you want, because if the option you want is not listed, you can create your own with a simple script.

Q: Does the integration cause conflicts between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint?

A: As this integration is one-way (from Dynamics 365 to SharePoint), there is no way for a conflict to arise between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint.

Q: Does this integration also work for attachments?

A: Attachments (in notes or emails) in Dynamics work differently. You can automate the upload process for attachments by developing custom solutions within Dynamics 365 or using third-party solutions like CB Dynamics 365 Seamless Attachment Extractor. This ensures that documents are stored consistently and are available in SharePoint (or other chosen storage location) without manual intervention.

Q: Can I use multiple SharePoint sites?

A: Yes, but they must all be either SharePoint Online or SharePoint On-Premises.

Q: How long does it take to integrate Dynamics 365 with SharePoint?

A: You can integrate Dynamics 365 with SharePoint using Microsoft’s native server-based integration in under 30 minutes using the step-by-step procedure above.

Q: Can I undo this server-based integration once enabled?

A: No, once you enable this change in Dynamics, it is permanent.

Q: Will this save me money on Dynamics 365 storage?

A: You will have to do the math for your specific case, but Dataverse (Dynamics) storage is always premium real estate. By moving documents to SharePoint, you leverage your Microsoft 365 storage allocation, which is significantly larger and much cheaper.

 

By Ana Neto, Connecting Software.

Connecting Software creates integration and synchronization software. We have been on the market for two decades. We operate globally and are also a proud “Top Member” and “Top Blogger” at CRMSoftwareBlog.

Video version of this tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABpHzvcEc-A

Originally posted in Feb 2020, last updated in Oct 2026 with screenshots for the new settings experience (Power Platform Environment Settings, generally available since Jan 2025)